All three stores were built in the past year. The 10,560-square-foot Lamar store is situated on the west side of Lamar north of Southwall Street; the Ramill store is on the west side of Ramill south of Yale Road; and the Houston Levee store is on the west side of North Houston Levee south of U.S. 64.

Dollar General, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as ticker DG, operates more than 10,000 stores in 40 states.

The company announced in May it plans to open 625 stores in 2012. It also plans to remodel or relocate 550 stores and increase square footage by an average 7 percent.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Delta Air Lines Pulls Plug on Comair

Delta Air Lines confirmed months of rumors on Friday, July 27, by announcing it is discontinuing operations of its Comair Inc. subsidiary effective Sept. 29.

In a memo to employees, Ryan Gumm, Comair president, termed the development a “difficult decision.”

“It is an unfortunate necessity due to the economic limitations of our aging aircraft, cost structure, the long-term outlook for 50-seat aircraft and our challenging industry and economy,” he said in the memo.

The Comair move is the latest by Delta in a strategy of putting more passengers on its larger jets above the 50-seat capacity and cutting the number of 50-seat jets it or its contract partners for regional air service fly.

The move away from 50-seaters is an industry-wide trend.

But Delta has been the most aggressive and vocal of the global carriers in embracing the philosophy. It is part of Delta’s larger strategy of permanent cuts in its capacity.

The move away from 50-seat jets like those flown by Comair as well as Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines Corp. was accelerated in June when Delta reached a new contract with pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association.

Part of that new agreement allows Delta to abandon flying the 50-seat planes quicker than it originally had planned.

Comair had some of the oldest of the small aircraft in the Delta Connection fleet.

And the age meant increased maintenance costs.

Delta had already announced it was going to park 16 of the Comair aircraft leaving Comair with only 28 aircraft in service.

Comair, which also does business as Delta Connection, had four daily scheduled flights at Memphis International in June.

Judge Childers Honored with Service Award

The award is given to a judge or judicial official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the law.

The award’s namesake is former Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III, who also was the award’s first recipient.

Childers has been a Circuit Court judge in Tennessee since 1984. Among his lengthy legal resume, he is a past president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and the Tennessee Trial Judges Association, and has served as a special judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Childers started practicing law in Memphis in April 1975.

– Andy Meek

Habitat ReStore to Open Tuesdays Starting Aug. 7

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis’ ReStore, located at 7130 Winchester Road, will begin being open on Tuesdays starting Aug. 7.

The ReStore also now accepts donations of clothing, shoes and other accessories.

Last fall, the ReStore added Wednesdays to its schedule as a result of customer demand.

It’s adding Tuesdays for that same reason, ReStore manager Joe Davidson said in a statement.

In June, the ReStore expanded its floor space by adding the space next door, previously occupied by Petco. A portion of that space is now open for shoppers and more will open in the coming months.

The ReStore sells new and gently used clothing, furniture, appliances, building supplies and other goods to the public at discount prices.

Proceeds from sales in the ReStore support the mission of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing.

New hours will be Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donations can be dropped off during those hours, and a free pickup service is available for donors with large items they cannot drop off.

– Sarah Baker

$3.1M Senior Living Facility Will Open in Whitehaven

Grace Place, an independent senior living community at 2131 Wilson Road in Whitehaven, will host its grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Aug. 2.

Festivities start at noon, and tours of the facility will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The $3.1 million facility, made possible by a grant awarded from Department of Housing and Urban Development, is situated on five acres of land and includes 30 one-bedroom apartments.

Grace Place will offer a barbershop and hair salon, library room, computer room and television viewing room. The facility has also received a $250,000 grant from the city of Memphis to fund future plans to build an exercise room, walking trail and gazebo.

Grace Place will link with area Churches of Christ to provide computer training, adult literacy, health screening and financial planning to residents.

– Aisling Maki

Grizzlies Back Charter Prep School

A new all-boys charter school created and supported by the Memphis Grizzlies is set to open Monday, July 30.

Grizzlies Prep School will start with 75 sixth-graders and add a grade per year until it runs through eighth grade. The charter school, which is funded by a mixture of public and private funds, was proposed by the Grizzlies Foundation last fall and approved by the Unified School Board in May.

School director Elizabeth Simpson says the curriculum is challenging, with a strong focus on math and literacy. Students will be part of a strong mentoring program as well.

Proponents say the school’s small size will allow students to get more personalized instruction than at larger public schools in the Memphis district.

– The Associated Press

Oil Rises on Expectations for Economic Stimulus

The price of oil climbed for a fourth day on expectations of more efforts to fix the global economy.

China is planning to pump billions of dollars into housing projects and other infrastructure to support its construction industry. The European Central Bank also hinted that more support could be in the works for Europe’s debt-ridden nations, vowing to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro.

And the Federal Reserve could still roll out new measures to spark a U.S. economy that grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 63 cents to $90 per barrel in New York while Brent crude added $1.12 to $106.38 per barrel in London.